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ExcerptofspokenwordpoembyDeirdreLee:It’sallrightthere–toeatdecentlyandnotgointodebt,weneedmoreLike,how’boutstartingwithimplementingalivablewage?Like,Idon’tthinkyouhaftabesomekindawisesageToseethatitreallyonlymakessensetopaypeopleenoughthattheycanaffordanexistence
ReleaseHarvest:Reporton2015ParticipatoryFoodCosting April7,2017
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TheDartmouthNorthCommunityCentre
begantofillupwithanattentiveaudienceon
themorningofMarch2nd.Representatives
fromgovernment,research,academic,and
non-profitsectorsaswellaslong-time
FoodARCpartnersattended.Everyonereceived
adouble-sidedinfographicsummarizingthe
reportandwedisplayedlife-sizesilhouettesof
thefivehouseholdsrepresentingthe
affordabilityscenariosthatwereexaminedin
thereport.Thesilhouetteswerecreatedto
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makethechallengesofaffordingahealthydiet
moretangible.Eachwasaccompaniedbya
graphicillustrationoftheassociated
affordabilityscenariointhereportandaquote
fromapreviousFoodARCresearchparticipant
tohelpillustratetheexperienceoffood
insecurity.
CatherineMartin,NancyChairinWomen’s
StudiesattheMount,award-winning
filmmaker,andMi’kmawwomanfrom
Creatingasenseofpossibilityforshiftsinpolicytosupporthealthy,just,andsustainablefoodsystemsforallinNovaScotia.
CanNovaScotiansAffordtoEatHealthy?
FoodARCandpartnershostedthereleaseofanewreporton2015ParticipatoryFoodCosting,the7thinaseriesofreports,onThursdaymorning,March2nd,2017attheDartmouthNorthCommunityFoodCentre.
Here’swhatwewanttosharebackwithyou:
Ifyouweren’tthere,wewanttoshowyouwhattheeventlookedlike.
Photos
Wedocumentedattendees’reflectionsontheresearchandcommunicatedthemvisuallywiththistool.
Wordle
Thenewreportsuggestsmanyrecommendationsandweheardfromattendeesaboutwhattheirdreamsforourfoodsystemare.
WishGarden
TheverytalentedpoetDeirdreLeewoveourresearchwithherownlivedexperienceinanengagingperformance.
SpokenWord
Socialmediaplayedaroleduringthelaunch–weliveTweetedandsodidyou!Seelinkbelow.
Storify
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MillbrookFirstNationopenedthelaunch
bywelcomingthoseinattendanceto
Mi’kma’kiwithherdrumandafewwords.
Theintentionoftheeventwastocreatea
senseofpossibilityforshiftsinpolicyto
supporthealthy,just,andsustainable
foodsystemsforall,Asthe7thinaseries
ofparticipatoryfoodcostingreportssince
2002,weknowthatithasbecome
increasinglydifficultforhouseholdwith
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lowandmodestincomestoaffordtheir
basicneeds,includingahealthydiet–
despiteincreasesinboththeminimum
wageandIncomeAssistance.Sowhydo
wekeepdoingparticipatoryfoodcosting?
Well,overtimeourresearchhasshown
thatthecostofanutritiousdietforthe
referencehouseholdoffourhasincreased
by63%,from$572.90to$935.11.The
researchalsoillustrateshowfood
insecurityisnotanindividualone–itisa
systemicone.And,NovaScotiahasthe
highestrateoffoodinsecurityofCanada’s
provinces,failingtofulfillthebasicrightto
foodforitscitizensandcontributingto
escalatinghealthcarecosts.Theseare
partsofthe‘why’thatFoodARC’sDirector,
PattyWilliamsspoketoinher
presentation.Shealsosharedkeyfindings
fordualearnerhouseholds,singleearner
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households,theprotectivefactorofa
guaranteedincome,andthepolicylevers
weexaminedthistimearound:thenew
CanadaChildBenefitandahypothetical
$15perhourminimumwage.Eachareaof
findingswaspunctuatedbyoneofthe
FoodARCpartnersreadingaloudaquote
fromFoodARC’sresearchthatexemplified
thelivedexperienceoffoodinsecurity
anditsstructuralnature.Throughthis,we
soughttoamplifythevoicesandstoriesof
realpeoplewhobearresemblancetothe
familiesandindividualsweattemptto
representwiththereport’saffordability
scenarios.Oncethefindingsand
conclusionswerepresented,ourfirst
collaborativedialoguetookplaceand
volunteerscollectedpeoples’responses
thattheywereaskedtodocumenton
colourfulpost-its.Thesewereusedto
The2015ParticipatoryFoodCostingfindingstellusweneedcomprehensivepolicysolutionstoaddressfoodinsecurity.
Totheleftisthe‘Wordle’createdfromthefirst‘collaborativedialogue,’wherepeoplewereaskedtoreflectonthefindings:1)Whatstoodout?2)Wereyousurprisedbytheimpacts?3)Whatarethepossibilities?
ReleaseHarvest:Reporton2015ParticipatoryFoodCosting April7,2017
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Growingtherecommendations:NextstepstoshiftNovaScotia’sfoodpolicy
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formtheWordle(seentopofpage2).
Afterwards,Halifaxspokenwordpoet,
DeirdreLee,performedapoemshewrote
forthelaunch,whichwoveherownstory
throughthereport’srecommendations.
ThepoemandperformancebyDeirdre
captivatedtheaudienceandhelpedpeople
toengagewiththerecommendations
emotionallyandintellectually.Avideoof
theperformancecanbeviewedonthe
FoodARCwebsite(foodarc.ca).
AttheconclusionofDeirdre’spoem,we
hostedasecondcollaborativedialogue,a
discussiontoinspirepeopletothink
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limitlesslyabouttheirdreamsforpolicychange
inNovaScotia.Oncemore,volunteers
collectedthese‘dreams’onpost-itsandplaced
themontheWishGarden–alargeposterof
whichwasondisplayintheentrywayofthe
DartmouthNorthCommunityFoodCentre.We
werehonouredforCatherineMartintoclose
thelaunchby,asshesaid,speakingfromthe
heart.ShespokeaboutTreatyandIndigenous
rights,whichareprerequisitestoIndigenous
foodsovereignty,aswellastheimportanceof
sharinginMi’kmaqcommunities,highlighting
Mi’kmaqhuntersinUnama’ki(CapeBreton)
whowidelysharemoosemeat.
+Aboveisthefinal‘WishGarden’createdanddisplayedattherelease.Thedreamsthatwereplantedthereemergedfromdiscussionsbetweenattendeesinresponsetotheconclusionsandrecommendations:1)Whatstoodout?2)Ifyouhadonewishtogrowtheserecommendations,whatwoulditbe?
ReleaseHarvest:Reporton2015ParticipatoryFoodCosting April7,2017
LoremIpsum Issue|DateAfteraninspiringandeventfulmorningthelaunchfortheReport
on2015ParticipatoryFoodCostingcametoaclose.We,theteam
atFoodARC,wouldliketotakethisopportunityto,oncemore,
thankeveryonewhoparticipatedintheday.Specialthanksto
CorrieMelanson,DeirdreLee,andCatherineMartin,fortheir
incomparablecontributionstotheevent,toourvolunteers,andto
ourpartnerswhocontinuetosupportandcarryoutimportant
workwithus.
Forcopiesofthereport,executivesummary,additional
affordabilityscenarios,andinfographicusedatthelaunch,please
visit:
http://foodarc.ca/projects/voices-for-food-security/resources-
and-publications/.
+ Formoreinformation,pleasecontactFoodARCstaffatfoodsecurity@[email protected].
ThankstotheNovaScotiaDepartmentofHealthandWellnessfortheirfundingtoconductParticipatoryFoodCostingandtotheSocialSciencesandHumanitiesResearchCouncilforfundingtohostthelaunch.
LaunchHarvest:Reporton2015ParticipatoryFoodCosting April7,2017
Reportpreparedby:CatherineHart(FoodARCResearchAssociate)&PattyWilliams
Storify:WeusedTweetsfromtheeventtorelaythereportlaunchasithappenedinrealtime.Checkthatouthere:https://storify.com/FoodAction/foodarc-launches-the-report-on-2015-participatory-
